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But on Monday, March 20, council officers will advise the city council’s licensing committee to commission a new demand survey, to find out if Cambridge really needs so many cabs.

The total number of licensed hackney cabs in Cambridge is currently 327, and as of February 2017, there were 153 Private Hire Vehicles licensed by the city council, meaning the number of taxis in Cambridge today is 480.

If an up-to-date survey is commissioned, it could also include a review of the taxi accessibility policy, and the quantity of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs).

In 2001, it was decided all new hackney cabs would have to be wheelchair accessible, except those numbered one to 121.

But the current policy stipulates all new hackney cab licences can only be granted to WAVs, and as of January this year, 65 per cent of the hackney carriage fleet are wheelchair accessible.

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The council has agreed a 10-year plan which aims to convert the entire hackney carriage fleet into either electric or hybrid vehicles to help reduce pollution levels in the city.

As part of the plan, several ideas are being considered, including creating a ‘clear air zone’ in the city centre, which would ban or impose restrictions on drivers of non-electric and non-hybrid cabs.

The licensing committee is set to discuss Cambridge’s taxi numbers next week on Monday, March 20.

If councillors decide to commission a survey, the results would be discussed by the licensing committee as far away as January 2018.

A new survey would be financed by the hackney carriage trade, with a maximum estimated budget of £12,000.

What do you think? Does Cambridge have too many taxis? Let us know in the comments below.